Cotton Burr Compost is very high in nutrition

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Certain foods or other items just go together. Vanilla ice cream and pecan pie (hot apple pie, hot brownies, hot chocolate chip cookies...) and a topping of whipped cream go well together. Wines with certain foods or champagne with dessert are common pairings. Oysters, beer and Bowen's Island are three things that go together well (Rose Society Oyster Roast April 13). March Madness Basketball and chicken wings go great together.

I'm sure you get the idea. In landscaping and pest control, there are some products that do much better when paired with another product or two.

Right now as the lawn, shrubs and trees are coming out of dormancy, a combination of SeaHume, Cotton Burr Compost (or Flower Amendment) and Black Castings will get your yard off to a healthy start. These products alone will do great things for your grass; however, if you combine them, look out. Some people will use them across their whole yard, others will target weak plants, weak turf, just their front yard, or their favorite tree or plant. With all the cold damage to the different plants, turf and trees, this combination should be a good jump start for your plants, trees and grass this spring.

SeaHume is a combination product of its own. Seaweed and humic acid are two great products that go great together. The seaweed is full of minor nutrients, amino acids, gibberellins and many other plant nutrients. The seaweed also feeds the micro-organisms in the soil and helps the plant grow deep roots. Deep roots help with compaction, drought tolerance, wear tolerance and they give the plant the ability to gather more nutrients because the roots cover more area. The humic acid in SeaHume helps create a rich, fertile, soil structure by modifying physical and chemical properties of the soil. Humic acid helps root growth and makes nutrients that are tied up in the soil available to the plant.

Cotton Burr Compost is very high in nutrition (some other composts are good filler but add little nutritional value). Plants and turf love it. Cotton Burr Compost provides a great “hotel” for microorganisms in the soil. One of the biggest benefits of Cotton Burr Compost is that it lasts up to two years in the soil. Most other organic amendments are decomposed in 30 days or so depending on the microorganisms in the soil.

Black Castings are Mother Nature's purest form of natural, organic, slow-release plant food produced by earthworms. Black Castings are full of beneficial microbial populations and the food to support good soil biology. They enhance plant growth and stress recovery (wear, insect, disease, cold damage). Black Castings will make fertilizer work better and in many cases you can reduce the amount of fertilizer applied.

Try this cocktail, I think you and your plants and your grass will love it!

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum's Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum's has three locations 481 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant (843-971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (843-760-2600), or 606 Dupont Road, in Charleston (843-766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum's location, or visit us at www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1 p.m., on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24/7 at www.possumsupply.com.

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